


No Sleep for the Miraculous

by ShadowMistWolf



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Chapter 17 is half angst, Gen, LadyNoir - Freeform, Marichat, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Unless Stated Otherwise, adrienette - Freeform, because my first work for this fandom was sad af, chapters are not related, i felt kinda bad, just cute little stories, kinda slow updates because college, ladrien, most chapters will be short, this one is not
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-14
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2019-08-23 11:26:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 16,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16618079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowMistWolf/pseuds/ShadowMistWolf
Summary: Some sleepy situations that our favorite team of Miraculous holders get into while in and out of costume!





	1. The Photo

Alya nearly screamed when she saw it, that one picture taken by an anonymous user and sent to her privet DM’s as the Ladyblog admin. It came with a short message promising not to send it to anyone else even if she decided not to make use of it, and she hoped they kept their word because that picture was most definitely classified as private. Sort of. It was no secret that having five superheroes meant they all had to work together, forge a bond of trust and friendship, but this took the cake.

The previous day’s akuma battle had lasted almost three hours and took several recharges from the various Miraculous team members, all to catch a saucy ten year old that had been transformed into an  _ invisible _ leprechaun that turned people into gold coins by touching them after being told that the creatures were mythical and didn’t really exist. It was safe to say that the heroes were all absolutely exhausted by the time it was over, and lucky that for the final sprint none of them used their ability because they hadn’t made it far. On top of a higher building, were five superpower wielding teenagers draped over one another for a nap. Ladybug and Chat Noir laid face down, with the former almost completely on top of him, Queen Bee nestled between them and Rena Rouge, who in turn had curled up to Carapace whose shell was just in reach of his free hand to let him lay on his back. 

In simple terms, it was the most precious thing Alya had ever seen in her entire life, and since she herself carried the secret of being Rena Rouge, it was twice as adorable. Shooting a quick reply to the sender, apologizing that while the picture was one of the best things she had ever seen, it was a little too private to be posted on the public blog. It was then that she began to wonder just who could have  _ taken _ it, a passing worker? A curious civilian that had caught a glimpse of them and hadn’t seen them leave? There were so many possibilities that it made the girl curious and wary at the same time; after all, not many people randomly found themselves on a rooftop in Paris unless they were a superhero or an akumatized villain.

Glancing to the clock on her computer, she blinked at the late hour that had somehow become normal for her, and took note of the twenty minutes she had before she needed to leave for the night’s patrol. With a growing grin, she snapped on the small photo printer that she had been gifted for a birthday by her friend Adrien and proceeded to print out five identical copies after scaling them down to a manageable size, not having pockets like Chat Noir did for transporting things. For a brief second her thoughts wondered to what the pun machine of a superhero could possible need pockets for before derailing that train and calling Trixx to transform. She tucked the photos into a purse and that over a shoulder before heading into the night through her window.

The Eiffel Tower, one of the most prominent landmarks in Paris, for obvious reasons, had become the meeting stop of the heroes, a place to observe and keep careful watch over their city. On a typical day they patrolled in pairs, going through a rotating schedule so that no one got overworked, but it was Saturday, and on Saturdays they all met to take a lap around before settling down to chat and relax a bit. 

It was warmer tonight than the last, with just the barest touch of a breeze to stave off any stifling humidity. Carapace and Queen Bee were waiting when she arrived, slightly unusual since Chat Noir and Ladybug turned up first most of the time. Exchanging greetings, they settled down to wait and didn’t take long for the cat to appear with an over excited grin and a large bag with a familiar logo on it: the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie. 

“Guys I brought snacks!!” He exclaimed, holding it high and proud while they rolled their eyes with small smiled, save for Queen Bee, but she didn’t really get excited unless it was Ladybug.

“Snacks after patrol Chat Noir.” The spotted heroine herself dropped from above, yo-yo in hand as she raised a brow at the leather clad teen who refused to be put out.

“I know, but if we leave them they’ll get cold and they taste better warm!”

“Then why didn’t you wait till later to pick them up?” Queen Bee scoffed, eyeing the bag more than the cat, which was not unlike the blonde considering it was no secret that Chloe Bourgeois and Marinette Dupain-Cheng did not get along very well.

“Because they would have been closed and these croissants are almost as good as Pr-Marinette’s macaroons and they’re the best in Paris.” No one seemed to notice the slip-up he almost made, but Ladybug sighed all the same.

“How about we have some now and then the rest later?” Ever the mediator, Carapace smiled slightly as they nodded in collective agreement after a moment of exchanging glances. Warm pastries were passed around, even Queen Bee took one, albeit after a moment of hesitation. Alya nearly inhaled the treat the second it was in her hands. Sure she spent tons of time with her best friend Marinette, but since becoming a superhero, she hadn’t had the down time to gets snacks outside of the very occasional lunch that her group of friends had at the bakery.

Patrol went by fairy quickly, no one was out and about if they didn’t have to be, and it made the night just that much more enjoyable. They split up the remaining pastries and settled into various places on the cross beams of the tower, a few jokes tossed around for a few minutes.

“Hey, Rena, what’s with the purse tonight?” Carapace inquired curiously, and the eyes of the others all went to her as she slipped it off and retrieved the pictures within.

“Something the Ladyblogger, Alya, sent to me.” There were mixed reactions to the image as she passed one to each of her teammates, and she smirked in amusement.

“Who could have taken this?” Ladybug questioned half to herself, brows furrowed in curious caution.

“No idea,” the fox shrugged with an apologetic smile, “it was submitted anonymously.”  

“Wow, we were out cold.” The turtle remarked with a twitch of a smile, turning to Chat only to pause, “You alright there, Chat Noir?” Glancing skyward, the cat held the photo delicately and with glistening eyes,

“M’Lady used me as a pillow.” 

“Don’t get used to it.” She replied dryly, but there was no mistaking the slight tinge of peak just under the edge of her mask. 

“Are we just going to ignore that some creep took a picture of us while we slept and won’t even reveal who they are?” 

“I doubt it was anyone with bad intentions, if it was they probably would have tried taking our Miraculouses while we slept, but they just took a photo and left, it’s not too big of a deal.” As usual the blonde went along with Ladybug’s reasoning, the others did as well of course, since it was sound logic. A few more comments and teases were passed between them before they decided to call it a night.


	2. The Sleepover

“A sleepover?”

“Yeah! It was actually Miranette’s idea.” Alya was unquestionably excited. Having a sleepover at Marinette’s meant several things, the main one being that Adrien would no doubt be invited along which would set up the perfect game of truth or dare. The second was being able to enjoy the best pastries and sweets in Paris all night long because Tom and Sabine were probably the coolest parents ever. 

“I’m not sure my Father would allow me to spend a night at a girl’s house…” Oh no. She was  _ not _ going to let the rich, overprotective, thinks-he’s-the-queen-of-France, Gabriel Agreste ruin her carefully laid out plans to get oblivious Adrien and awkward Marinette together.

“So tell him you’re crashing at Nino’s to work on a school project or something.” At the blonde’s uneasy and nervous look, she grinned deviously, “C’mon, her parents always bake a ton of stuff for when someone spends the night, sometimes we get to mess around in the bakery ourselves.”

“Are you trying to bribe me with food?” The model inquired with a raised, skeptical brow.

“And the promise of an awesome time hanging out with friends without actually having to do anything related to school… Is it working?”

“Maybe, but I don’t know if it’s a good idea for me to go…” Somewhat surprised by the statement, Alya’s smile faded just a bit.

“Why not?”

“Well it’s just- that um… IdontthinkMarinettelikesme.” Blinking, the tan girl took a moment to decipher the rushed statement and nearly broke out laughing when she did.

“Adrien, Marinette likes everyone, except Chloe.” she tagged on the last part with a shrug. 

“Then why doesn’t she talk to me? She always seems to clam up or run away around me.” He explained dejectedly.

“I um- well-” There was no way she was about to spill her bestfriend’s  not-very-secret-secret crush, but what other explanation could she possibly give him? “Y-you know how into fashion Marinette is, she just overthinks everything and is super anxious about how to act around the son of her biggest role model?” Plausible and believable, score one for the future journalist. 

“I guess that would make sense…” She almost snapped when the kicked puppy look lingered, but she settled for amping up her charisma a touch instead.

“Don’t look so down, she’s just doesn’t want anyone to think she’s cozying up to you to get ahead in her fashion game, ya know? You’re also one of her closest friends, it’s why you’re getting invited, not just because we feel the need to constantly smuggle food to you.” He let out a small chuckle and nodded slightly at that.

“Alright, yeah, I’ll figure someway to get out.” 

And he did, eventually, convince his father -through Nathalie of course- that he had an important test coming up and that one night studying at a friend’s house with the promise of regular check-ins wouldn’t be the end of the world. 

So he packed a bag with everything he thought he would need and left it in the car the morning of so that he could grab it after school instead of stuffing it in his locker. They went straight from school to the bakery, bombarded by the glorious smell of pastries as the entered along with friendly smiles from the girl’s parents. The living room was where they would be sleeping, a pile of thick blankets set in a corner and the game console setup with four controllers and a stack of games. 

They had jumped into the games right off the bat, Nino and Alya avoiding Ultimate Mecha Strike for as long as possible until they blonde friend had -rather naively in their opinion- challenged Marinette.  Predictably, the pigtailed girl crushed him round after round until they were called for dinner, which was a wide spread of different Chinese foods. A lesson in how to make cinnamon rolls followed that and then a movie, Tom and Sabine retired for the night soon after, leaving the four in the living room. 

“Alright, time to break out the good stuff,” Alya began with a devious smirk, almost rolling her eyes when Adrien’s look of confusion as he glanced at the plate of chocolate croissants that Marinette’s parents had left them with, “Marinette, truth or dare?” From her spot sitting on her respective ‘bed’ next to Alya, the brunette paled a few shades, eyes widening as they glanced around the room and hands fiddling with the hem of her pink tank top.

“Um, truth?” 

“Hmm, if you had to pick one food to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?” Relaxing at the innocent question, the girl put a finger to her chin pensively and thought for a moment before answering,

“Salad.” 

“Dude, you would willingly give up everything but leaves for the rest of your life?” Nino made a gagging face, but Marinette smiled knowingly,

“I never said green salad, because when you think about it, anything can be a salad, marshmallow, potato, macaroni, fruit. So I could technically still eat anything I wanted. Nino, truth or dare?” 

“Truth.” The dj answered simply with a shrug.

“What’s one song you wouldn’t admit you actually like?” 

The innocent questions continued for about an hour, not that the four noticed as they slowly began to tire and drift off, the week’s worth of patrols and four akuma attacks finally catching up to them. Alya and Nino had fallen asleep first -much to the bloggers disappointment the following morning upon waking to recall never getting the two closer in the least- so Marinette and Adrien gave up the game in favor of just talking. Her eyelashes fluttered as she rapidly blinked in a vain attempt at starving off the growing weight, and she could barely imagine him doing the same.

“We didn’t really stay up all that late, did we?” the blonde noted with an amused chuckle, getting one in return as he glanced at the electric clock on the wall that read 1:24 AM. 

“Not really, but this week has been busy for everyone, I’m really glad we don’t have to wake up for school tomorrow,” she paused as a deep yawn broke her sentence, blinking the tears away from her tired eyes, “I feel like I could sleep for a week.” 

“Yeah, Nathalie always wakes me up early, even if I don’t have anything scheduled in the morning.”

“That sounds awful, remind me to plan these more often.” A small smile lifted the edge of his lips at hearing her sleep muffled voice growing quieter, and Adrien finally closed his own eyes without the intent of opening them again,

“Thank you, Marinette, for inviting me.”

“Any time Adrien…” 

“Good night.”

“Night…” 


	3. Not even Coffee

Absolutely dead tired. That was the only phrase Alya could think of to describe how she felt as she slumped into her seat for class. She had gotten an akuma alert at 2am that very morning because some night shift hospital nurse was pissed at her coworker. Oh boy if she ever managed to get her hands on Hawkmoth, she’d throttle the bastard for giving her such a mess of a sleep schedule. 

Something crinkled to her right and she glanced up to find an also very exhausted Marinette settling a bag on the table, setting out napkins and then croissants that she passed to her and Nino. Feeling her mood rise like the steam coming off the very fresh pastry, Alya managed to sit up in time to watch Adrien saunter through the door with a a coffee holder, passing them each one and receiving his own breakfast in return. 

“You guys are the best,” she mumbled around a bite, smiling despite the still very crushing need to sleep, “How did you even know my coffee order?” 

“Nino.” the blonde supplied, already halfway through his croissant. The room began to fill with more students, some eyeing the group with a touch of envy at seeing the popular baked goods, but of course Marinette had planned for that and gave one to each person who passed, exchanging greetings and smiles. 

The only thing out of place was Chloe when she walked into the class just moments before the bell sounded, with a large travel mug clasped in her hand and a noticeable lack of makeup despite her outfit still looking as pristine as ever. 

“You know, if I didn’t know any better, those four could pass for Ladybug, Chat Noir, Rena Rouge, and Carapace with how tired and late they always are.” Alex joked, not noticing how the entire group flinched before breaking out into awkward chuckles with the rest of the class. 

“Pah-lease! Marinette is way too clumsy to be Ladybug, and Adrien would never stoop to cheesy pickup lines and stupid puns.” Chloe scoffed, flipping her ponytail with one hand while the other was still securely wrapped around her mug, not to mention neither Carapace nor Rena Rouge need geeky glasses.” 

‘If only you knew’ was the collective thought from the four, not that any of them realized it as they feigned irritation and indignation at the blonde’s words, but any true argument was stopped by Ms. Bustier entering and beginning class. 

Trying her best to keep up with the notes, the teen blinked down at the screen of her tablet and sighed to herself after a moment, finding it harder and harder to keep her eyes open the longer she sat. A soft ‘thump’ to her right caught her attention and she glanced over at Marinette to find the poor girl slumped over her work out cold. 

With a tiny smile Alya resumed her attempt at following along, but even the caffeine from her coffee wasn’t much against losing an entire night of sleep to fighting a villain. Her head nodded in her hand, glasses pressed uncomfortably against her skin and the pen in her other was lolling about in the slackening grip. She jolted when she lurched forward, harshly blinking, but she was too tired to even yawn at this point. Another soft thump of a head hitting the desk and Adrien was asleep. 

A quick, if fruitless in her battled against possibly detention, glance around showed that no one seemed to care much about the sleeping duo, trio if Chloe’s sudden disappearance meant she had fallen to the side onto the bench, and even Ms. Bustier appeared none the wiser for the time being. Rubbing at her eyes Alya finally gave in with a silent groan and put her head to the desk, joining her friends for a much needed nap, the threat of detention fluttering away with her train of thought. 


	4. Mari likes cuddling

Pleasant weather all day had Adrien wishing for nothing more that a nice spot to curl up and nap in, and he was sure that many people felt the same way if all the bleary eyes and soft sweaters meant anything. He always looked forward to his patrol nights, especially now that there were more people to work with -though of course he absolutely loved patrolling with his lady and often complained about not getting to spend as much time with her as before-, but he had Queen Bee to patrol with which definitely put a damper on his mood. 

He didn’t have anything against his fellow hero, he was in fact quite proud of his childhood friend for turning a new leaf in life and dumbing down her ‘honest opinions’ about people. Though he wished that applied to his civilian friends a bit more, especially Marinette, but he could only begin to guess the extended history and rivalry between the two. It was just his luck that he noticed a strange pink lump on said girl’s balcony and felt like stopping to investigate. 

“Um, what are you doing, we don’t have time to waste on simple civilians Chat Noir.” Chat shrugged, hiding an eyeroll, and paused nonetheless. 

“Well for one, she’s a friend of mine; two, the last thing Marinette Dupain-Cheng is is simple; and three, you don’t have to come with me and it’s not like we have much further to go, so you can call it a night and I’ll finish later, ok?” 

“Fine, whatever.” Were her last words to him before she took off, leaving the cat to himself. With a satisfied smile, he hopped the last house to his destination and slunk down to the chair. The pink lump was a large and rather fluffy down comforter with only the barest glimpse of raven hair to show that the teen was indeed wrapped up in it. He drew it back slightly to find her asleep, frowning for a moment at the faint circles under her eyes, and gently shook her. She mumbled at the sudden motion and blinked her bluebell eyes up at him in confusion, but he just smiled down at her,

“Purr-mission to move the purr-incess inside to her awaiting bed?” Again she didn’t speak, but lifted her arms from the cocoon of warmth so that he could lift her free, arms going around his shoulders and nuzzling into the crook of his neck. Chat couldn’t help but blush at the contact, and slid his arm under her knees to lift her completely up and move to the trap door. He managed to prop it open with a foot and drop down onto her bed without jostling her much, the challenge came when he laid her down and she kept her arms wound around his neck.

“Princess, you can let go now.” She blinked at him with a small frown and shook her head,

“Stay with me.” She drawled out so slow it almost sounded like a whine.

“I can’t, I need to go.”

“No.” He couldn’t help the smile on his lips at her insistence on hauling him down onto the bed beside her. He settled for a dramatic sigh and laid down, pulling her closer as she snuggled against him.

“Fine, I’ll stay, but only until you fall asleep.” Making no indication that she had heard him at all, Marinette relaxed in his hold and smiled as she fell back into her dreams. A few minutes into listening to her steady even breathing and Chat Noir found himself drifting off as well, only vaguely aware of de-transforming before following his princess. 

Chat was so warm and comfortable when he woke that it put him on edge, his oversized bed was never so pleasant. With a jolt he realized several things at once. One: he was curled up with Marinette in her bed; two: he wasn’t Chat Noir at the moment, he was Adrien; three: there was a faint sliver of dawn light shining through the window below; and four: Plagg was snickering at him. 

Trying not to wake the sleeping girl in his panic to slip out of her embrace, he slid to the wall and paused before his hand even touched the skylight above. Marinette had shifted in her sleep but hadn’t woken, and Chat took note of her messy raven hair spilling every which way on the pillow under her. When he spoke to her as Adrien there was a constant flush to her cheeks and she stuttered like no tomorrow, as Chat she was more relaxed but still guarded just a bit. Asleep, her face was softer than he had ever seen before. With one last glance and a fond smile, he slipped away to transform on the balcony and race away, secretly wishing that he had the chance to see her like that again one day.


	5. Lunch Nap

After a dawn photoshoot and a test with patrol the night before, Adrien was completely ready to accept the sweet embrace of detention if it meant getting in an extra hour of sleep; luckily, he had Nino to keep him alert long enough to make it through class and to lunch. Clouds dotted the sky overhead as the group settled on the front steps of the school to eat, having packed their own lunches and intending to catch up on a few assignments when they finished. 

The white stone was cool to the touch but after a few minutes sitting in the sun the feeling was replaced by smooth warmth. Nathalie had taken over putting a small lunch together for him, and he was glad it wasn’t some outrageous meal in tupperware, not that the sandwitches and fruit in it weren’t fancy -they really were on the fancy side. He listened to the light banter around him but didn’t quite have the mind to join them, for now he was content to sit, eat, and listen, possibly nap when he finished. 

Something pink flickered into his sight and he jolted back slightly at the close proximity to find a slightly concerned Marinette in front of him with a macaroon held out in her hand,

“A-are you feeling ok, Adrien?” As usual she stuttered a bit with a soft blush, and the blonde blinks at her in surprise,

“Oh! Y-yeah, I’m fine, just really tired from my morning photoshoot, thanks.” He explained, taking the offered treat with a model smile as the girl stepped to the side and sat beside him instead of going back over to Alya. She pulled a textbook from her bag, and began to read through it quietly with her tablet on her leg, occasionally jotting down notes. 

He hadn’t realized he was watching her simply write until she tucked the book away and switched the app to their physics work. Again his thoughts drifted away as he followed the movement her hand made as she wrote, absentmindedly noting the small callus on her finger and the small scars from repeated pin pricks and papercuts. 

If he had been more awake, he have noticed the atmosphere of absolute mirth coming from Alya and Nino just before his head dipped to the side he had been leaning toward and landed on the smaller girl’s shoulder. She froze instantly, cheeks going tomato red in a second, and a panicked squeal hissed from her lips for a moment before she clamped her mouth shut and cut it off. Bluebell eyes looked to the side at the flawless blonde hair and soft face, which of course only led to her blush intensifying much to Alya’ growing delight and amusement. Marinette shot a small glare at her best friend, though it’s intensity was diminished by her fiery blush as she slowly slid her attention back to her work, finding a jagged line across the screen from when she had stiffened.

Closing the app and slipping the stylus back into place, she settled the tablet into her bag and folded her hands in her now vacant lap, twiddling her thumbs as the redness died down. The snickers from her friends were ignored for the most part as Marinette slipped her phone from her pocket, blinking at the half hour remaining for lunch. Sure she was used to sitting still for long periods of time while sewing and sketching, but with her crush on her shoulder she was afraid that any movement would jostle and wake him, and with how tired he looked, he needed all the rest he could get. 

Of course that still didn’t prepare her for when he did slip off her shoulder and land in her lap, still dead asleep despite the rather loud laughter from Nino and Alya as Marinette once again flushed a deep crimson. 

Adrien stirred from his sleep just slightest when something shook his shoulder lightly, but he merely groaned and tired to nuzzle closer to the warm pillow under his head. It took him a moment to realize that he hadn’t gone home for lunch that day, and that he had actually fallen asleep on the school steps. Which meant he was laying on someone, and that someone was trying to wake him up. 

The blonde shot into a sitting position so fast it almost made him dizzy, and he found himself locking eyes with a startled Marinette. He blushed lightly and threw his hands up in a frantic apology, one running through his disheveled hair. 

“S-sorry, Marinette! I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you, I swear!” He blinked when she giggled, finding her looking at him with a glint of something in her eye, but he couldn’t exactly place whatever it was. 

“Don’t worry about it, I don’t mind.” Surprised by the lack of stuttering he usually got from her, Adrien found himself staring at the raven haired teen curiously as she got up and grabbed her bag before turning back to him, “Class is starting soon, you might want to fix your hair though, people might think you’re Chat Noir.” That line finally clicked with the glint in her bright eyes and he paused for a moment,

Ladybug was going to kill him for sure when she found out someone knew. 


	6. Chat Nap

Lunch in the park wasn’t an unusual occurrence for Marinette, but with the males of their small group of friends out for the day, it left the ravenette to Alya’s prodding and teasing for the entire day. Not even food could hope to stem the flow of their almost one-sided conversation, which was impressive in its own right because Alya’s mother made amazing meals, not to mention the treat and pastries the baker’s daughter often brought to share.

“I can’t imagine what it must feel like to be trapped in skin tight leather in weather like this-” Their typical fall back subject, superheroes-mostly the local Miraculous team-, had been brought up almost as soon as the two sat down. Marinette could only wonder about how much effort it took the blogger to talk so casually about them when she herself was Rena Rouge, especially since she felt like there was some situation nearly every week that almost reveals her as Ladybug.

“Well if the suits are magic, then wouldn’t they have some way to keep them cool in the summer and warm in the winter?” 

“Good point, but still, leather is something else when you wearing it in the sun.” Amber eyes glanced to blue for a moment before dropping to the lunch set between them as she continued on, moving onto the latest akuma attack, but there was something nagging at the smaller girl. It was something small, barely there, but it was bothering her to the point of pushing aside lunch to figure out what it was. 

“Hey, Marinette? You listening, girl?” 

“Huh, oh yeah, sure.” Alya frowned as she watched her best friend’s gaze slowly move around the park, obviously distracted by something, but she couldn’t tell what. 

“Hey, Alya, is there something… vibrating? Around here?” The redhead rose a brow in confusion, but settled for blinking into the distance and trying to listen for whatever it was that had caught the other’s attention. It took a moment, but there was indeed some sort of vibrating hum nearby, so faint that Alya was surprised Marinette had caught it first. 

“I think something is actually, it doesn’t sound like a phone or anything electronic though.” Spurred on by her curiosity, she got to her feet and headed toward the sound as best she could, Alya trailing after a moment later. The soon found themselves in a patch of trees and shrubs that opened into a tiny hidden clearing dappled in sunlight, and in that patch was a familiar black cat… and about half a dozen actual cats. Alya’s phone was in her hand in a flash, snapping a few photos as a few of the felines turned sleepy gazes to the intruders. 

“That’s one way to have a cat nap.” the girl chuckled quietly after putting the device away. Marinette nodded with a small smile,

“Yeah, but sleeping out here might not be the best idea, should we wake him up?” At her shrug, the ravenette moved forward and shook the hero’s shoulder gently, hoping that the light motion would rouse him. A couple the cats had padded off to find other places to rest as Chat shifted and stretched before sitting up. 

He blinked a few times before his green eyes found Marinette’s blue and he tilted his head to the side curiously, muttering, “Princess?”. Alya choked and the smaller girl flushed slightly, a nervous chuckle rising in her throat.

“W-what are you doing sleeping out here?” She managed to ask, ignoring the glances from the blogger in favor of focusing on the half awake superhero, but he simply reached out and grasped one of her hands gently. Too fast for her to react outside of a shocked squeak, Marinette was pulled forward and down, landing on her back with a weight settling on her stomach and under her back. Chat had curled up half on top of her, nuzzling into her shirt as a soft vibration started up, the same one that had drawn the girls there in the first place. He was purring. Arms wrapped around her waist and legs tucked under hers, Chat Noir was sleeping away without a care, undisturbed even by Alya’s barely muffled laughter. 

Bright crimson, Marinette lifted her shoulders from the ground to glare down and hiss something at him, but her irritation seemed to vanish at the faint smile on his lips and how relaxed he was, if the deep purr against her side was any indication. 

“Well since you’re rather occupied at the moment,” Alya’s voice sounded, reminding the teen of her friend’s presence, “I’m going to go get our lunch and bring it over here.” Resigned to her fate, Marinette settled for nodding instead of speaking, mentally noting to talk to her friend later and derail the idea’s she knew were spinning around the future journalist’s  head. For now she rested back against the grass and lifted a hand, brushing it through the sun dappled blond hair of her partner, and smiled.


	7. Strange Night

Alya was enjoying a peaceful sleep nestled in a bundle of soft blankets while the first bit of rocking rolled her entire bed, the second pulling her from a pleasant dream and into a drowsy stupor, the third jolted her so hard she flinched and fell to the floor. With a pounding heart and several curses on her lips, the teen snatched her glasses and phone from her nightstand and -grimacing at the bright screen- swore several more times at the akuma alert the glared bright red at the top of the screen next to the clock that read 2:16 am. 

Trixx floated over her shoulder, a large yawn covering any remark the kwami was about to make before Ayla pulled herself to her feet and transformed, leaping out the window of her room and racing away toward the akuma’s last location. The almost constant rumbling around her made it pretty easy to follow the trail, and about halfway there a black shadow slipped up beside her, glowing green eyes narrowed slightly,

“Again with these stupid people that work night shifts,” she barely heard him mutter as they drew closer and the fox found herself nodding with a tired sigh but said nothing, worried that the tension rising inside her might make her snap something at her friend. He didn’t seem to mind or even notice her silence, being just as quiet himself, and the finally reached the latest villain. It looked like a waitress for a club or bar, and she was using a serving tray to turn things into miniatures while she herself was enormous, standing as tall as some of the four story buildings, the rumbling and shaking coming from each step she took.

Three more pairs of feet landed next to the two, pausing to take in the scene before them as Ladybug wrestled to come up with a plan. Finally, after a few moments of silence and several glances cast her way, the spotted heroine shrugged,

“Cataclysm the stupid tray while we distract her Chat.” 

“With pleasure M’Lady.” The other four sprang off, shifting to the edge of a high rise so that they were looking down on woman. Even with the energizing rush of transforming, the heroes still felt the fog of exhaustion weighing on them as they prepared to engage the akuma, Rena setting the flute into place with intent to cast an illusion when a severely angry huff made her pause. To her right, Queen Bee was messing with the phone of her spinning top, muttering to herself before all out throwing the thing with one last frustrated shout,

“I swear when I get my hands on you Hawkmoth I’m going to tie you to a chair and make you watch re-runs of some lame rom-com!! Do you have ANY IDEA how hard it is to get my beauty sleep when your dumb akuma’s are constantly going around making a mess?! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT THE HELL SLEEP IS ANYMORE?!?!?!” 

“Yeah!!” Rena joined in, “It’s not like your midnight bad guys have any better chance of beating us anyway!” 

“Get a life! I’m starting to think you’re just some perverted creep sitting in some trashy apartment wanting to wish yourself into a king or something so that you don’t have to get a real job!”

“It would certainly explain why the akuma’s all look like they were designed by a two year old.” Ladybug tagged on as the purple butterfly appeared over the akuma’s face. Nothing happened for a few moments, and then to everyone’s surprise the woman’s form was overtaken by black and violet bubbles that shrank down and finally disappeared, leaving a very confused woman and a white butterfly that quickly fluttered away. 

“THAT IS IT! THIS IS RIDICULOUS, UTTERLY RIDICULOUS!! I’m going home! Goodnight!” Queen Bee’s outburst jolted the rest of the team as she stalked away, snatching her top from Chat Noir and zipping away into the night. The remaining four exchanged mixed glances of curiosity, shock, and surprise before Ladybug called for her Miraculous Cure to revert the shrunken objects back to their original size and Chat moved to help the waitress that was standing in the street below.

“Did… did that really just happen?” Carapace questioned, still looking at the spot their enemy had previously occupied.

“I think so?” The spotted heroine replied, glancing around a bit in case Hawkmoth had simply decided to switch to a different akuma, but when nothing stirred in the otherwise silent city, she shrugged, “I guess we’re all done for the night.” 

Unwilling to question their adversary’s motives, they all dispersed back to their homes, internally rejoicing the fact that there was a normal night ahead of them, despite the interruption, and played it would stay that way. 


	8. Strange Night: Part 2

On the other side of Paris, one Nathalie Sancoeur was making her way through the Agrest Mansion with a very specific location in mind, plain azure robe flowing in the wake of her fast steps. As an assistant, she was used to handling a variety of situations, but until a few weeks ago, she didn’t think this would be one of them. 

The woman clicked the mechanisms to lower herself into the hidden underground and followed the now familiar path to a wide open room filled with glowing white butterflies, her boss standing in the center of light shining through the large window. Crossing her arms over her chest after adjusting her glasses, Nathalie cleared her throat harshly, instantly catching the man’s attention.

“I understand your drive, Sir, but it is 2 o’clock in the morning.” He just barely flinched at the scathing glare she leveled at him, gesturing at the window,

“But Nath-”

“It. Is. Two. In. The. Morning.” 

“She said my designs were two year old drawings!!” He exclaimed incredulously, again moving his hands rapidly between him and the opening as if it conveyed his every thought and feeling, but the woman’s shark look neither lessened nor wavered, “They called me a pervert!!” 

“I would too if it wouldn’t get me fired.” she mumbled to herself, knowing she was just far enough away that he couldn’t hear it, of course his own eyes narrowed at seeing her lips move, but he made no comment while stilled pinned under her seething sapphire stare. 

After a few more seconds of silence, Hawkmoth’s shoulders slumped in defeat and the the purple moth illuminated his face for a moment then faded, a white butterfly fluttering into the room not long after. He dropped the transformation and Gabriel Agreste moved toward where his assistant stood, both of them heading up the small elevator into his office.

“I’ll let you know when your schedule clears enough for anymore late night activities.” Had anyone else heard that their first thoughts would no doubt have taken a lewd turn, but at the edge of ice in her voice, it took a lot to keep his stoic expression and not cringe away. 

Nathalie slowly made her way back toward her room, checking in on Adrien’s and fining that he once again left his window open but decided against the possibility of waking him this late before continuing. Nathalie Sancoeur could handle many, many things, including her boss being the one and only supervillain of Paris, but everyone had a limit, and she was tired of being awoke in the dead of night to the sounds of the city being destroyed, it wasn’t exactly the type of white noise she enjoyed. 

She swore to herself then and there as she climbed back into her thankfully still warm bed, that if this pattern continued she was going to quit. There were a lot of things money could buy, but there was no way her salary could cover weekly all-nighters, college had taught her that much and this would be so much worse if it went on any longer. 

That being said, she supposed it could buy her boss one last chance, especially two weeks later as she stalked down to his lair with a fury just after midnight. She almost wished they had security cameras set up in the lower level, the frightened screech of surprise as she barreled toward him with a hell promising glare would have made brilliant blackmail material, maybe enough to get herself a two week vacation, but she wasn’t so lucky. 


	9. Windy Walks

The brisk winds of fall swept through the city, bringing a chill that crept into just about every layer that Marinette had donned that day, a mint green sweater over a black turtleneck, full length jeans instead of her pink capris and black high-tops replaced her flats. The weather channel had said it would be cold, but she had forgotten about how the wind felt like ice against her skin and the cold made her incredibly drowsy. 

She hugged herself as another gust picked up, a lone piece of paper dancing past on the breeze, originally her goal had been to pick up a few supplies and a bolt or two of fabric from her favorite shop, but with each passing minute she felt closer and closer to curling up in a corner and sleeping away the cold. Tikki had explained that some of the Ladybugs were affected more drastically by the Miraculous than others, and she happened to be a tad bit unlucky in that regard. 

Feeling the faintest thump against her thigh, the teen glanced down to find the kwami peeking her head out and gesturing to a nearby alley, trembling just the slightest bit and Marinette reminded herself to add something soft to her mental supply list to line her purse with. 

“Marinette, I don’t think we’ll be able to make it to the store and back in this weather, not walking at least.” she said as soon as they were out of the frigid wind and the ravenette nodded in agreement.

“I know you said I’d start to feel sleepy in the cold, Tikki, but this really something else.” Blue eyes blinked rapidly for a few seconds, trying to disperse some of the light fog in her mind before directing her full attention back to the red creature.

“Not many past Ladybugs were so impacted by the characteristics of the Miraculous, but transforming should keep you warmer, especially with the seasonal modifications.”

“I wish you’d told me that fifteen minutes ago.” She rolled her eyes with a small smile, getting a giggle in reply before calling for her transformation. The change was obvious as warmth seeped back into her skin, the slightly thicker material of her suit twice as insulating as her sweater had been, and something heavy weighed on her back, the size of a small backpack just without straps. 

Resolved to ask her kwami about it later, the hero turned her sight to the rooftops, planning and moving to the shop as quickly as possible, probably make up an excuse of taking a cab home to explain her record fast trip. She transformed back in a nearby alley, rushing into the heated building with a relieved sigh before setting out to gather what she needed, loitering around the fabrics for a few extra minutes at the thought of going back out into the cold. 

“Hey Marinette.” The voice made her start so suddenly that the bolt in her hands was flung into the air, saved only by the other person’s quick reflexes, “Oh geez! Sorry! I didn’t mean to frighten you!” Blue eyes locked on familiar green and the girl flushed red,

“A-Adrien! H-Hi! Wh-wh-what are you doing here?!” She mentally cringed at her unnatural stuttering, but like a true gentleman, her friend took it in stride with a small smile,

“Picking up an order,” the blonde replied, handing her back the bolt, which she took with a nervous chuckle and a quiet ‘thanks’, “Some new fabric patterns that my Father was interested in, I mostly wanted to get out of the house though.” He admitted with a shrug and the girl nodded in understanding.

“Must have been really boring for you to want to come out in this cold.” 

“Oh, I don’t mind the cold really, even if it is a lot chillier than usual for this time of year.” He finished speaking just as an employee approached, handing him a medium sized package before walking away with a courteous wave, “If you’re heading home, would you like to walk together? I’d offer you a ride, but Nathalie’s helping my Father with important work stuff and I don’t want to disturb either of them.” Marinette paused to consider his proposal, on one hand walking home with her crush seemed like a golden opportunity, but on the other, she had really looked forward to sprinting home as fast as her hero self could.

“I’d love yo- TO!!” She exclaimed around her fumble, face flushing crimson in embarrassment, “I would love to walk with you!” Biting her lip and drawing back with a flustered wild glance around, she snapped back at his small laugh, “U-um I should warn you though, the cold, it makes me tired, like really tired.” 

“Oh?” Adrien tilted his head curiously, it was an unusual condition, not that he was one to judge considering the accident with the laser pointer. 

“Y-yeah, so I apologize if I get kinda sluggish as we go.” He gave her another model smile, a gleam of understanding in his eyes,

“That’s okay, shall we head out then, before it starts getting dark Pr-Mari.” If she had noticed his almost slip-up on her name, the ravenette didn’t show it, instead she had turned to look out into the street, grimacing at the wind blown leaves clinging to the branches in sight.

“Yeah, let’s.”  

It didn’t take long for the red in her cheeks to turn from embarrassment to the cold, sniffling every now and again as the two meandered down the road. Adrien noted that after only five minutes his friend had slowed down just a bit, hugging her bags and fabric to her chest to stave of the breeze. He was surprised, even though she had warned him, he wasn’t expecting to see her blue bell eyes drooping so dramatically. If he had to guess my the slight furrow in her brows, Marinette was frustrated by her exhaustion and fighting to hold herself together long enough to make it back to the bakery. 

A few more minutes and something to the side caught the blonde’s eye, making him perk up slightly with an idea as he turned to the ravenette, “Marinette, wait here a moment okay? I’ll be right back,” He guided her to a bench a few feet away set his package next to her, catching the small nod of compliance that was overtaken by a yawn before moving away.

Meanwhile Marinette set her bags down and curled her hands under her arms, trying to warm them up from the biting wind while she felt them being tugged out, something warm pressed into their hold instead. Confused, she blinked down to find a travel cup, a light trail of steam rising from opening.

“There, that should help a bit, right?” The teen looked up into bright green eyes and smiled,

“Thank you Adrien, you really didn’t have to.” She still pressed the cup to her lips, sighing as the warm drink danced around her tongue with the rich taste of chocolate. She was indeed much better now. Without her realizing until the last second, Adrien had grabbed hold of all their things, somehow managing to find a stable spot for the bolt of fabric to rest despite the box and bags. 

“I feel like a ladybug when the weather starts getting cold.” She said, breaking the silence after their small debate of him carrying everything as they headed off once again. The statement had caught him off guard and peaked his curiosity at the same time.

“A ladybug?”

“Yeah, ladybugs hibernate in the winter, that’s all I want to do, sleep until the cold is gone.” 

“I see, that doesn’t sound like fun though, you’d miss out an a lot of fun winter things.” She grumbled at his point, making him smile in amusement as they drew closer to the bakery.

“‘Winter’ and ‘fun’ don’t belong in the same sentence.” 

“Well what about Christmas? And New Years? If you slept you wouldn’t get to spend time with your friends and family.” She pursed her lips in a pout, gazing up at him through long dark lashes, and his heart skipped at the utterly adorable expression.

“Why must you make such good points?” 

“Because there are a lot of people who care about you and want to spent time with you.” Adrien was almost surprised that there wasn’t any stuttering to go along with the small blush he no doubt had on his cheeks, even though the cold nip had reddened them long ago. His heart thumped again when her pout morphed into a soft, droopy eyed smile, the smallest tilt to her head and he swore that tired Marinette was going to be the death of him.

“You’re so nice.” Before he could respond, the doors they had ended up stopping in front of opened, revealing a very relieved Sabine.  

“Marinette, oh! And Adrien! Come inside both of you, no use standing out in that wind.” The petite Chinese woman ushered the pair inside, not allowing room for any sort of objection. They found themselves seated upstairs not a few minutes later, mugs of hot tea shoving into their hands and though Marinette didn’t drink it, she was glad to have a replacement for the warm chocolate Adrien had to kindly bought her. 

“I like your Mother, she’s really kind.” 

“She’s the best,” the ravenette smiled in reply, “though she can be a bit overbearing sometimes.” 

“Well I should probably get going before Nathalie decides I’m late, thanks for walking with me, Marinette.” 

“Oh! I’ll see you out.” Much more awake, there was a blush accompanying her words and the teens relocated to the back entrance, standing in front of the clothed door as the blonde gathered his things.

“Um, th-thank you for today, and the hot chocolate.” 

“It was my pleasure, see you at school?”

“Yeah, see you, Adrien.” With one last smile he disappeared out the door and around the corner, leaving a very red Marinette to face the wide grin on her mother’s face as she ascended the stairs back into their apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for wait between chapters, I had finals this week, but now that they're finished I have a month long break to focus on this any any other works that pop up. Anyway, thanks for reading and I love hearing what you think so please comment! Have a Miraculous day everyone!


	10. That Time of Year

“There’s so many ladybugs this time of year.” Adrien blinked at the side comment from his friend and looked to the bushes closer by, noting that there were indeed quite a few of the spotted red and black beetles loitering around the leaves. 

“Well, they hibernate for winter so they have to find lots of food and warm places to stay right?” Beside him, Nino chuckles and raised a brow at the blonde,

“Since when did you become an expert on ladybugs? Was it because of one specific Ladybug?” Adrien blushed and looked away, shrugging a bit,

“No! It was just something on the internet that I saw.” Unconvinced, he rolled his eyes good naturedly before gesturing to a empty table in the sun,

“Whatever you say dude, let’s just work on that essay, Alya bet me ten euro she and Mari would get it finished before we could.” Settling their things to the side, the pair dove right in on their project, fully focused an on task for a grand new record of an hour and fifteen minutes before a buzz from the dj’s phone broke their bubble of concentration.

“Damn, they finished.” 

“No way, really?” the blond asked, leaning over to see the screen for himself before plopping back in defeat, “How?”

“No idea bro, but it’s no big deal, probably Mari and her competitive streak at work.” Adrien paused a moment and shrugged, recalling the gaming tournament the girl and Max had won together not long ago.     

“That checks out. Well there’s no point in sitting around, let’s get finished.” Nino let out an over exaggerated sigh of resignation that made his friend chuckle before they resumed their task, the gold eyed teen occasionally getting side tracked by his girlfriend’s texts. It didn’t take long for them to finished, and Adrien bit his friend goodbye, each turning down different street to depart from the park and head home. 

Bright green eyes trailed over the bushes as he walked, mentally counting as many ladybugs as he could as he passed them. His thoughts wandered to his own Lady, silently wondering what she could be up to in her civilian life at that moment, hanging out with friends? Her family? Lounging in bed or dutifully studying homework? He wished to know, he wanted to know everything about her, the girl he loved. A pang of longing shot threw him, reminding him of her insistence that they remain unknown to one another along with the whole of Paris. 

“I’m hungry.” The voice made him just slightly before glaring down at the black kwami settled on the inside of his jacket, acid green eyed glaring up at him.

“You’re always hungry, Plagg, we’ll be home soon and you can get your stinky Camembert.” The kwami frowned and tucked back into his pocket, muttering under his breath something that went unheard. He was cutting through a corner of another wooded park when his foot caught something, the unexpected snag sending him toppling forward but luckily the reflexes he honed as Chat let him roll with the blunder, tumbling into a crouch instead of landing him on his face. 

Snapping his head around to find exactly what had tripped him, he was surprised to see a very familiar black spotted red leg, his eyes trailed up the lithe form to the drowsy bluebell eyes blinking at him from the shadow of a bush. 

“Ladybug?!” Her eyed snapped wide open at his strangled yelp and she was on her knees with a deep and partially hidden blush stained her cheeks.

“A-Adrien?! W-wh-what are you doing out here?” 

“I was um, I was heading home, what are you doing out?” The hero’s blush died down a bit and she fingered on the of leaves by her side,

“W-well I decided to get some fresh out, but then I saw this bush and I was really tired and it looked like a nice place to take a nap… so yeah… um… please don’t mention this to Alya, I don’t think the actually ladybugs would appreciate people combing through the bushes hoping to find me if i accidentally fall asleep again.” She giggled nervously, and Adrien flushed at the sound, glancing at the plant before turning back to her, just now noticing that she had several of her namesakes crawling on her suit.

“Oh, no, I won’t say anything, promise.” He gulped at the soft smile she gave him, heart beating frantically against his chest, so hard he was afraid she might hear it,

“Thank you, Adrien.”  She stood and he did the same a second after, still smiling, “You should probably go, I need to get home myself.” The blonde found himself nodding to her suggestion and gave her a small wave,

“Right, see you around Ladybug.”

“Bye!” She was gone in a flash of red, zipping along the line of her yo-yo and he watched until she was out of sight, letting out a fond sigh before continuing on his way, grin staying present the entire way. 


	11. Clumsy Chat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!! TWO UPDATES TODAY BECAUSE THAT IS MY CHRISTMAS PRESENT TO YOU ( ⓛ ω ⓛ *)

Was it a bad idea to dismiss Ladybug’s idea for her to takeover tonight’s patrol when he accidentally let slip just how little sleep he had been getting? Yes. Would he ever admit it out loud? No. No, he would not. Even when his foot slipped, caught the rail of a balcony and sent him sprawling in a rather undignified heap to the wood deck, he refused to accept it. 

“Chat Noir?” Since everything seemed to ache in exhaustion he settled for grumbling into the wood, grateful that he at least recognized the inquisitive voice that called to him. 

“Are you alright?” He mumbled an unintelligible answer and rolled over, finding concerned bluebell eyes staring down at him… in much the same way as his lady had stared at him when he insisted he was fine to do patrol alone. 

“Purrfectly fine, thanks Purrincess.” A large yawn cut his sentence short just a bit, and tears stung his eyes as he blinked rapidly up at the girl still standing over him, “Just need a good nap and this cat’ll be set.” He grinned, but the teen just rose a brow and shook her head, leaning down to offer him a hand, which he gratefully took. 

“It’s kinda dangerous to be patrol when you’re this tired, why didn’t you ask Ladybug to cover for you?” He dusted off his suit and shrugged lightly, ears wilting just a bit.

“M’Lady looked just as bad as me tonight, Princess. Besides, an all-nighter is something I can handle easily.” Ah yes, the Marinette-frown-of-disapproval, it was a dangerous thing to be on the receiving end of. 

“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should, Chat Noir,” she scolded lightly, staring him down for a moment before letting out a sigh, “Stay right there, I’ll be right back.” Because the super hero had a chance to argue or even question her, her black pigtails disappeared down the skylight hatch, clicking quietly closed and leaving him alone and curiously confused. 

True to her word, she returned prompty, with two steaming mugs in hand as well. She handed him a rather fitting bright green cup with black paw prints traveling around it while her own was pink with red polka-dots. A small ‘thank you’ and a quick sniff confirmed that the beverage was indeed the hot chocolate she had made for him on a previous unscheduled visit. 

“You know, if you feed a cat it’ll keep coming back for more Purrincess.” He teased with a small grin, chuckling when she rolled her eyes at him.

“If it means you’ll be a little more awake while protecting Paris, I think I can sacrifice some hot chocolate and the occasional croissant.” He perked up slightly at the mention of food, and the ravenette couldn’t help the small laugh bubbling in her throat, “Not tonight though I’m afraid, maybe next time.” Chat pouted childishly behind his mug before taking in the last of the warm drink, sighing contently and feeling more alert than he had before.

“I’ll hold you to that Princess, thank you for the hot chocolate.”

“No problem Chat, better get going before you end up falling into someone else’s balcony.” He smirked at her for a moment, grabbing his baton and tossing it absently,

“Oh? So my Purrincess’ real motive was to keep this cat all to herself?” Marinette flushed brightly and flashed a small glare at him,

“That is not-!” He cut her off by stepping forward and snagging her hand from her side, pressing a chaste kiss to her knuckles with a grin,

“Don’t worry, you have no competition. Your loyal knight bids you a goodnight, Purrincess, sleep well.” Chat was gone before she could respond, and she shook her head, still blushing as she returned to her bed, smiling to herself as she drifted off, unaware that her cat was doing the same, and both slept better than they had in days.  


	12. Sleeping Beauty

“I am Sleeping Beauty and you all will be punished for not believing in true love’s kiss!!”  Ladybug rolled her eyes at the akuma stalking the street below, she looked like a strange cross between the Disney Sleeping Beauty princess and Poison Ivy, using vines covered in thorns to ensnare people and put them to sleep. 

“So what’s the plan for putting this akuma to bed, M’Lady?” The spotted hero sighed heavily at her partner before stretching out to stand, studying the appearance of their newest villain to find the akumatized object.  

“I’m not sure yet, but we need to avoid those vines at all costs.” 

“Talk about a real thorn in the side, huh?” Rena’s voice cut in from the side and Ladybug groaned as the fox and cat exchanged a fist bump in greeting and for the joke. 

“Pity Chloe’s out till next week, her Venom attack would make this a bit easier.” Carapace noted, finishing their group. 

“We’ll figure something out, we always do. We need to get her headband, I think that’s where the akuma is.” 

“You’ve got two purrfect distractions right here while you and Carapace work out how to get closer.” 

“Good thinking Kitty, let’s go.” 

Suffice to say, it was not an easy fight, the vines were constantly moving and zipping around them, and Sleeping Beauty was just as slippery. Rena stopped on a rooftop but had to leap away a moment later to avoid the thorns set on tearing her to ribbons, she was tired and ached from head to toe. 

“Look out!” Something crushed against her side, pushing her to the ground as a vine shot through the air where she had been only moments before. Rolling to a stop, the fox gasped and shot up, rushing to where an unconscious Carapace was laid, a single visible scratch tearing a thin line in the arm of his suit. Floundering, Alya beat back a stray vine with her flute before there was enough space for her to not worry about another random strike as her mind raced. She certainly couldn’t leave him there on the roof in case one of the vines managed to snag him Miraculous, and she couldn’t afford to stand still for long. 

Blinking at the sudden idea, she glanced around at the empty area before shrugging to herself and leaning down, pressing her lips against her boyfriend-who-happened-to-be-a-superhero-and-didn’t-know-she-knew’s. Moving back, she frowned when nothing happened for a moment, but then he shifted, groaning loudly as he blinking his eyes open.

“Oh good! I thought that graze would put you to sleep!” She lied, standing to help him up.

“Yeah, that would have been bad, c’mon, LB and Chat still need help.”

“No rest for the wicked today!” She barked enthusiastically, taking off with the turtle close behind to rejoin the fight. Not far away, Ladybug was frantically spinning her weapon, smacking any plant that got close as she struggled to move from where she was pinning on rooftop, Chat Noir tearing through the vines to reach her as fast as he could. 

Bluebell eyes moved rapidly in an attempt to keep up with the barrage, but a gasp left her lips at the fainest scratch of pain on her leg before she went limp, collapsing in a heap. In response the black cat swore under his breath and surged forward, calling his cataclysm and brushing as many vines as his power would allow. The akuma shrieked in rage as her pants withered and turned to dust, allowing the hero to reach his partner at last. 

Sleeping Beauty scowled at him and raised an arm, promptly dozens more of the thorny vines to rise, and with a quick motion they all shot forward. Wide eyes screwed shut in an instant and Chat Noir flinched, prepared to feel the sting of hundreds of thorns when a familiar shout and a bright green domes formed around him and the two that he only just noticed at appeared beside him, deflecting the foliage and saving them all. 

“Well, that was close, thanks Carapace.” 

“Happy to help.”

“LB got hit, what do we do now?” A sly smile stretched Rena’s lips as she turned her attention to Chat who in turn shifted warily, ears folding back ever so slightly. 

“Kiss her.” 

“What.” It came out strangled as a fiery blush erupted over his face, eyes blowing wide in surprise. Even Carapace paused to glanced at them for a brief second. 

“You love her, right? It worked when she kissed you to break Dark Cupid’s spell; plus, it’s a fairytale classic that a kiss wakes up the sleeping princess.” The fox themed heroine was beyond amused watching the cat stutter and sputter, eyed going frantically between the sleeping Ladybug and the smirking Rena Rouge, but eventually his gaze settled on the ravenette’s face though there was still a touch of conflict in his features. Finally he bent and pressed his lips to hers, freezing the moment they made contact before yanking himself away, every inch of exposed skin turning bright red.

Rena bit back a cheer when Ladybug stirred, sitting up slowly to find her team gathered around and Chat very pointedly looking anywhere but at her, “Welcome back to the land of the wakeful, I thin a Lucky Charm would be useful right about now.” Sky blue stare snapping to her, the spotted hero nodded and stood, calling her charm and finding a large pack of industrial strength weed killer in her hands.

“Well at least this one doesn’t require much thought, ready Rena, Chat? As soon as the barrier drops.” Two nods and Carapace released his Shelter, Ladybug waving the open bag in front of her and covering the pants. 

“Mirage!” In a plum of smoke there were half a dozen copies of the team springing away in every direction, distracting the majority of vines away from Chat Noir who slipped forward and behind the villain, snatching the flowery headband of her head. Sleeping Beauty screamed in anger just as the object sailed into Ladybug’s grasp, snapping with a flick of her wrists to release the dark violet butterfly. A quick purification and Miraculous heal later, and they regrouped on a random rooftop, though Carapace excused himself quickly when his miraculous sounded.

“Good work team, but I have to ask, how’d you wake me up from Sleeping Beauty’s spell?” A sharp beep cut the air and Chat Noir jolted, suddenly flushed crimson and sprang away, whatever departing words he had were jumbled up and unintelligible. Rena smiled smugly to herself and shrugged,

“You know what they say, true love’s kiss can break any spell or curse.” She gazed pointedly at Ladybug who returned the look with a raised brow of confusion, so the fox settled for a light sigh instead, “Don’t worry, the important thing is that we figured it out, see ya tomorrow for patrol!”


	13. BONUS CHAPTER: THE LASER POINTER INCIDENT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [AnaRyu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnaRyu/pseuds/AnaRyu) asked about the laser pointer so here's the laser pointer, enjoy.

It had been a while since Adrien had been able to find the time and work out a plausible excuse to spend the night at his best friend’s house, but finally, after two weeks of postponed plans, he was able to get out of the dreary mansion he dreaded to call home. Nino had been just as psyched to spend a whole night playing video games and just chilling with Adrien, he had even gone gotten a dozen assorted pastries from Marinette’s parent’s bakery to celebrate the small ‘miracle’ that was his best bro being able to be a normal teenager. 

Under the guise of studying for a test as well as completing an essay, Adrien happily shucked his pack onto the floor of Nino’s bedroom and plop into a beanbag chair, grabbing the offered game controller without hesitation. Everything was going as normal as usual, until they took a break the blond’s eye caught a glint of metal peeking out from under the entertainment center. Intrigued, he managed to fish it out, finding a silver pen-like object with a button and a bulb. A laser pointer. 

Thinking little of it, he set it on top of the dresser nearby, completely unaware of it rolling off and into his bag when his attention was elsewhere. A certain little kwami however, was very aware and slightly annoyed to the sudden interruption of his sleep by the pen falling on him and nearly smashing his precious cheese. With an mischievous glint in his eyes, Plagg easily hoisted the object up and peaked over at his chosen, grinning at finding him alone and waiting for his friend to return. 

Adrien’s head snapped up at the red dot’s sudden appearance, transfixed by the spec of color and drew closer to it slowly. Lashing out a hand, his palm slapped against the wall with a loud ‘thud’, and he drew it back to find it empty of his quarry. Glancing up, he found it just a foot away, swaying slightly in random directions. The pattern of sneak, smack, and relocating continued around the room, Adrien moving faster to try and catch the dot, but without success. 

After a particularly harsh hand against the wall, the blonde model froze when the door opened and his friend waltzed in, brow already raised in confusion, “Dude, what’re you doing?” A tinge of pink raced over his cheeks and Adrien chuckled nervously, eyes fixed to the side,

“W-well you see, there was a bug,” He began, hand already rubbing the back of his neck in a sheepish manner.

“A bug?”

“Yeah! Th-there was a bug on the wall and I was trying to catch it so I could put it outside.” Nino eyed his friend with an unidentifiable look but after a moment nodded in acceptance of the strange answer.

“Alright then, bro, whatever you say. I found that movie for us to watch, you still down to watch it?” Nodding rather than trust his tongue not to stammer, Adrien moved to sit back in the beanbag chair only to stop short. The red dot had returned, flickering on his friend’s shoulder. 

He drew his weight back, tensed, and sprang. With a shocked yell, Nino was bowled over onto the floor, movie flying from his hands and landing stomach first with Adrien on top of him. Green eyes snapping wide in realization and embarrassment, the teen quickly scrambled off his friend, face going red as a frantic apology spilled from his lips,

“I’m so so sorry Nino!! There was a- a spider, I swear, I didn’t mean to knock you over, ohmygod!” To his surprise, Nino began to laugh, pushing himself up and managing to stand,

“No worries dude, Mari’s got arachnophobia too, she just screams a little more.” While that was nowhere close to the real reason, Adrien was more than willing to role with it, apologizing once more before excusing himself to go change into his sleepwear. Snatching his bag off the floor harshly, he stalked into the bathroom and set it down, all but ripping the zipper open to glare down at the kwami within that was rolling with contained laughter, silver laser pointer grasped in his paws. 

“Plagg,” Adrien hissed, “give me that thing, right now!” 

“No way! You should’ve seen you face, kid!” the god of misfortune chuckled, getting a firm frown in response,

“Not funny! Are you trying to reveal my identity?”

“Lighten up, it’s just a bit of fun.” he protested, hugging the pen tightly.

“Plagg, give me the laser pointer or so help me I will give you nothing but Brie for a whole week!” 

“Fine, have it your way,” pouting just the slightest, Plagg handed over the object and turned back to the block of cheese beside him, allowing Adrien to take it. Changing quickly, the blonde returned to the room and joined Nino for the movie, sliding the laser pointer back under the stand where he had found it without his friend’s notice. He internally vowed then and there that he would never again allow his troublesome kwami to get his paws on the infernal things.


	14. Muffins and Puns

An entire box of blueberry muffins had been pressed into Marinette’s hands when she left the bakery and started on her way to school and the smell made her mouth water despite how tired she felt. A new design competition had kept her up into the early hours of the morning, balls of paper littered a large area on her floor from failing inspiration which eventually struck, at two o’clock in the morning. 

“What are you doing with those?! I am allergic to blueberries, are you trying to kill me!” Lila had climbed the steps all the way to the back row where the ravenette had set the open box on the desk for people to have, Marinette had to admit that her dedication to keeping up with all the lies she told was both abhorrent and to be admired. 

“Oh? Then please, have one.” There was a sharp gasped from the olive eyed girl who snapped back with an exaggerated look of shock and hurt on her face, but Marinette was distracted by the choking laughter beside her. Adrien was trying to muffle it with a hand, but Chloe didn’t even bother to hide her amusement. It had taken two weeks of Lila’s presence to pull the mayor’s daughter toward her childhood friend and form some semblance of acquaintanceship that didn’t border on enemy with the other girl. 

“You think this is funny!?” The brunette demanded, drawing the rest of the class’s attention to the back, 

“Oh course it is, the nicest girl in Paris just offered you a muffin and you’re getting upset.”  

“It had blueberries-!”

“Lila, the fruit tart you ate at lunch two days ago had blueberries in it.” Adrien noted,  a spark of mirth shining in his eyes. Marinette grabbed two of the muffins and slide them down before taking one for herself, biting into it with a sigh of content and locking her tired eyes on Lila,

“I don’t know, even if you are really allergic, these are to die for.” Adrien shook with laughter again, trying not to choke on his treat as Lila cast a seething look over the three before turning with a huff and stalking back to her seat in the front without another word. 

“ _ Berry  _ smart of you, Marinette.” He settled for instead, getting two groans of exasperation in response. 

“You’re as bad as Chat Noir,” Chloe rolled her eyes, popping another bite into her mouth, “I’ll see you both for lunch.” With a wave she departed, sliding into her own seat as the teacher entered. Miss Bustier set her things down and was about to begin class when Lila’s hand shot into the air for a moment, successfully gaining the woman’s attention,

“Miss Bustier, Marinette brought blueberry muffins to class and I’m deathly allergic to them, can you tell her to remove them?” 

“As much as I’d love to shove one down your throat and watch you choke, it’d be a waste of a perfectly good muffin.” Adrien snapped his gaze to Marinette, surprised and amused as well as a bit shocked that she would vocalize her more violent thoughts, but seeing her half lidded eyes and glazed over look he concluded that she was exhausted and as such, had no filter. Luckily, her comment had gone unnoticed by anyone but him, and even that was partially due to the hearing improvement he had outside the suit of Chat Noir. 

“I’m sure you’ll be fine, so long as no one makes a mess with them around you.” The slight raise in her brow was a clear indication of her doubt in believing the pastries were as ‘deadly’ as the brunette claimed, so once again Lila huffed and crossed her arms, looking none too pleased by the lack of response to her plight. 

“A real  _ fruit cake _ that one.” The ravenette muttered,

“Quite the  _ prune _ .” The pair dissolved into giggled in their seats, getting several disapproving looks from the teacher before she sent them both to the principal’s office for disruption. Still laughing, Marinette led the way into the hall, the two falling in step quickly. Adrien’s gaze fell the shorter girl as they walked and he decided that he very much enjoyed the sass and puns of all things that she whipped around when she was tired. Not to mention, that she had been having an easier time talking to him lately, it was new, and rather refreshing. He was glad they were friends.


	15. Makeup Nightmare

“Ugh, what is with this stupid weather?!” The one day she decided to forget an umbrella, and it was pouring outside. Chloe was not alright with this turn of events. She had barely been in the rain for more than a few seconds, but it had been enough to soak her hair and make her makeup run. Even worse, Sabrina was at home with a cold! 

Scowling, the blonde slammed her locker and stalked into the bathroom with her emergency hair and makeup bags clenched to her chest. She stared down the products inside as if they would would hopefully become intimidated enough to apply themselves perfectly without her having to touch them… she would never admit it, but her skill with makeup was not all that she wished it was. Countless frustrating videos had led to her almost hiring a professional. Almost. Then Sabrina came along and Chloe was surprised to find that the girl had some idea what she was doing at least, and that had led to a new ‘bonding’ activity where she allowed her ginger friend to apply her makeup everyday before school. 

Today she had set aside a solid hour and managed to imitate the usual baby blue eyeshadow, contour, and lip gloss to look as it always did, but it had taken several do-overs and she didn’t have that kind of time before class.  With a frustrated groan split by a yawn that made her eyes water, she glared at her reflection and without thinking moved to rub her tired eyes only to find a soft grip around her wrist to stop the movement.

“Don’t do that, it’ll get mascara all over your jacket.” The blonde jolted in surprise, finding a bleary eyed Marinette a mere foot away. With a half hearted scowl she pulled her arm out of the equally tired looking girl’s hand and turned back to the mirror. 

“What do you want Dupain-Cheng?”

“Just fixing my makeup, same as you.” Not bothering to reply, Chloe set about trying to remove the smeared and running inky black and blue, forgetting in her frustration that her least favorite person was also there as she scrubbed harshly at the stain around her eyes. She didn’t hear the door open and shut then repeat a few moments after, but she did feel the hands grasping her shoulders after snatching the wipe from her hand and push her down to sit on a random stool. 

“Shut your eyes, don’t move.” Chloe frowned but bit back any retort and kept silent as Marinette cleaned the ruined mess off her face. The only problem was that having her eyes closed made her exhaustion all the more apparent, and she found herself nodding off after a minute, the damp material being replaced by the small delicate swipes of a brush. A light tug and her hair fell to her shoulders, a brush running through the strands slowly, not helping at all with her battle to stay awake, but at this point she honestly wanted to just forget about school and sleep… 

“Chloe.” Blinking several times, she focused on the bluebell eyes in front of her,

“Ladybug?”

“Not even close.” Marinette chuckled, amused for several reasons, and Chloe finally seemed to snap out of her daze, brushing her hand back to find a pristine ponytail -if still a bit damp- and when she looked to the mirror, she found a soft bronze eyeshadow instead of her blue, with grey liner and charcoal mascara. It looked perfectly applied, but she knew there was no way she would ever admit to such a thing to her classmate.

“Your bags are back in your locker, let’s go or we’ll both be late.” They left the bathroom and retrieved their bags from the locker room before heading to class, neither saying a word until just before they were about to enter.

“Thanks.” It was quiet, barely a whisper, and Chloe stalked forward and into the room before the other girl could reply, therefore missing the small smile she had.

“Sure thing, Queen Bee.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for having such a long time between updates, I started my next quarter of college and have some challenging courses for the next three months so updates may be few and far between unless inspiration strikes. Anyway, as always thanks for reading! Be sure to leave comments, I love to hear what you think and any idea's you may have!
> 
> And if anyone was interested, I run an incorrect quotes blog of sorts for Miraculous Ladybug on Tumblr under the username [Shade-Nightingale](https://shade-nightingale.tumblr.com/).


	16. Two Surprises for the Price of One Sleepless Night

“Woah, who died?” Alix quirked a brow as she entered the classroom, taking in the several slumped over teens already occupying their seats. It looked like well over half the class was asleep on their feet.

“Akuma started demolishing everything he could, everyone had to evacuate -” a yawn cut the amber eyed reporter off for a moment, “- and no one could go home until it was defeated which took a long time, till almost four this morning.” Grimacing to herself, the pink haired girl sat with a small nod of understanding as the rest of their classmates filed in. 

Marinette was the last person to enter, trudging slowly to her seat and had barely put her bag down before her head hit the desk. Beside her Alya gave her friend a light pat on the back, wordlessly urging her into a more upright position as Ms. Bustier strode through the door looking like one of the few who hadn’t been disturbed by the previous night’s events. 

With a bright smile and a cheerful hello, she began the day’s lesson, making a side comment that everyone do their best to stay awake and keep up with the notes. Some managed it while others didn’t even bother to fight their exhaustion and succumbed to sleep in minutes. 

Out of his entire group, Nino was the only one awake enough to even write straight, and he half heartedly wondered if they could get away with napping at Marinette’s place for lunch since it was the closest to the school and it was always extra warm above the bakery with plenty of snacks. A loud series of beeps cut into the relatively quiet classroom. Behind him, Alya jerked awake and fumbled her phone out of her pocket in panic, accidentally tossing it in her haste before lunging halfway across the desk to catch it before it could hit Nino. 

“Akuma!” Adrien and Marinette jolted further into wakefulness at her outburst, matching scowls of annoyance on their features, though Adrien’s face smoothed out as he sighed in … resignation? It was hard to tell. The blue eyed girl on the other hand looked ready to throw down, and as a previous victim of her surprising strength and agility, Nino pitied the poor soul on the receiving end of her wrath.

“You have got to be kidding me! I can’t even get a moment’s peace in this city anymore! Ugh, I am  _ so _ over this!” Many watched curiously -and a bit warily- as she stalked over to the window, ranting on, throwing open the pane and ignoring Ms. Bustier’s call to return to her seat.

“Tikki, spots on!” Jaws dropped and tired eyes blew wide open when in a flash of red and pink Marinette was replaced by the Parisian superhero Ladybug. She zipped out into the air a second later, leaving the dead silent room to explode in a frenzy. Chloe followed close behind the red heroine as Queen Bee, Chat Noir appearing moments after. 

“I honestly thought it would be you who revealed yourself first.” The bee themed hero commented, glancing at the black cat who returned the look with one of confused curiosity.

“What do you mean?” The blonde rolled her eyes, glancing behind them at the familiar orange and green blurs slowly catching up.

“I mean, ever since we were kids, you’ve have no filter between your brain and your mouth when you’re exhausted. Granted you have to be  _ really _ tired, but it was surprising to see Dupain-Cheng give in first and not you Adrikins, especially after last night.” Chat stumbled in shock, nearly missing a roof ledge before regaining his footing,

“You  _ knew _ !?” Raising a delicate brow, Queen Bee eyed him from the side as they ran, her usual expression when asked what she thought was a stupid question.

“Of course I knew, I’m probably the only person in Paris, or  _ was _ at least, who figured you all out. I mean, Marinette’s the only person in this city that could have possibly been Ladybug, and I know what you look like when you flirt because it comes straight out of your ridiculous animes. Rena and Carapace were obvious after that.” 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Again the ‘why are you asking a dumb question’ look.

“Because Ladybug trusted me. Despite every mistake, ever stupid tantrum, every person  _ I  _ was responsible for akumatizing, she trusted me to used this Miraculous for good, and part of that trust was keeping her identity -and all the rest of yours for that matter- to myself.” Chat paused for moment, pulling the girl to a stop with him.

“I’m really proud of you, Chloe.” He admitted with a soft smile, one that caught the girl off guard for a moment before she returned it.

“Thanks, I’m proud of you too, you know, but you still need to stop being such a pushover.” He laughed and nodded, watching her smile turn into a smirk.

“Noted, now let’s go help out our Ladybug.” Queen Bee tapped the outstretched first with her own and together they resumed running, spotting a fuming bug not far from them, and jumped into the fight. 


	17. Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO VERY SORRY BUT THIS CHAPTER IS LIKE 50% ANGST I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF
> 
> WARNING: BLOOD AND MENTIONS OF VIOLENCE/DEATH

_ The lights of the Eiffel Tower glittered against the night sky, Notre Dame standing tall with darkened windows, a small breeze brushing past carrying the smell of the blooming flowers that edged the familiar balcony. When had he come to this place?  _

_ “You’re thinking awfully hard tonight  _ chaton _ , what’s on your mind?” She was suddenly there at his side, Marinette, his Princess as he fondly called her. When had she appeared? _

_ “Nothing important, Purrincess.” What had been on his mind? He couldn’t recall… _

_ “Was it about the akuma? You know that wasn’t your fault.” Akuma? Yes, there had been an akuma earlier that day… Wolfenstein he had been aptly named, he tore through the city with a vengeance, looking like a strange werewolf with massive claws and just as deadly jaws full of razor sharp teeth. He had hurt people…  _

_ Unwanted images filled his head, blood and screams ripping through the night, spilling from his head and into reality. He flinched back from the railing he had been leaning on, finding that there was blood soaking into his gloves. Her faced filled his sight, terrified bluebell eyes staring up as crimson stained claws bore down. He jerked, the image fading as a hand found his cheek, sky colored eyes staring at his own in concern, _

_ “Chat it’s okay, it wasn’t your fault.” Wasn’t his fault?  _ What _ wasn’t his fault? He glanced down and snapped back, letting her hand drift down to her side. Both were covered in the slick shine of blood. The smell hit his nose all at once, the copper tang overwhelming him and his knees hit the hard wood beneath him followed closely by his hands and his stomach heaved.  _

_ His body shook and shuddered out of his control and her delicate hand gently gasped his chin, forcing him to look up at her. He was nearly sick, the three gashes that tore from her hip to shoulder nearly invisible, blending into the red covering her, but they still stood out against what little slivers of pale skin he could see. He didn’t saved her… but he  _ had _. He had! He had put himself between the akuma and Marinette! Didn’t he? He would never let his princess die, not like that! He would have saved her! _

_ “Oh my  _ chaton _ don’t cry.” Her fingers left crimson streaks against the edge of his mask as she brushed away the tears that flooded his sight and fell, but that only made them fall that much faster. Marinette slumped suddenly, dropping forward, and Chat caught her in a second, pulling her close against him. Cold crept into his arms and chest, the warmth gone from her like a candle flame blown out, and her dull gaze stared sightlessly past him into the starless sky. _

_ “Mari! No, please! Marinette!! Princess please!”  _

“NO!” Adrien jolted awake with a distraught shout, heart hammering in his heaving chest as he searched around frantically. Moonlight illuminated his large room, it wasn’t what he wanted to see. 

“You okay, kid?” Plagg floated into his vision, uncharacteristic concern filled his large green eyes as the blond shivered; the kwami could sense the fear and uncertainty that radiated of his chosen, and he didn’t like it.

“Marinette…” the cat blinked in confusion as Adrien blurted out the name rather than answer the question, and desperation bloomed into existence, “I need to see Marinette!” He flung the sheets and blankets to the side, rising into a standing position only to pause as Plagg zipped back in front of his face,

“Slow down kid! Whatever you saw in that nightmare of yours was just that: a nightmare. Pigtails is safe at home sleeping away.” His words had no effect on the teen who simply shook his head

“I know, but please, Plagg, I  _ have  _ to see her, I need to know she safe!” After a moment of silence the kwami sighed and relented with a small nod, getting a tiny smile of gratitude from Adrien before being sucked into the silver ring. 

Chat Noir leap out the window and all but flew over the rooftops of Paris, path direct and unwavering. The bakery was dark and silent, fading in with the rest of the building in the dead of night as he landing on the rail of the balcony, fighting back the memories of his nightmare. 

He didn’t pause to knock on the small hatch, knowing it was unlocked he slipped in and landed on the bed below with a dull thump that roused the figure sleeping there. Bleary blue eyes blinking up at him in sleepy confusion as she sat up, his name halfway past her lips when he threw himself toward her. His arms clung to her tightly, forehead pressed between her shoulder and neck as his eyes filled with relieved tears.

Marinette knew something was amiss with the black cat the second he was pressed against her, she could feel him shaking and feel the damp that spotted her nightshirt. She didn’t hesitate to return the embrace tightly, one hand running soothingly through the hero’s wild blond hair. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Her voice was a sweet whisper breaking the quiet a few minutes later, but he stilled as a few images flickered through his thoughts and his arms tightened for a moment,

“I didn’t save you…” Her heart broke as his voice spilled into the darkness, small and choked, trembling just as much as his body, “I didn’t save you from the akuma, and you kept saying it wasn’t my fault, but you were covering in blood and-and-” She shushed him gently, not once ceasing her soft caresses,

“You did save me though  _ chaton _ , I’m here because you saved me from the akuma, I’m here, I’m okay.” His grip loosened marginally, but the ravenette could tell he was slowly calming. She tugged her thick duvet over the both of them, leaning back to they laid down on the bed, shifting around until they were both comfortable. 

“I know you’ll always be there to save me Chat Noir, you are my knight in shining leather after all.” She could just barely make out the tiniest smile on his lips as he pressed closer, saying nothing as there was nothing that needed to be said. The haunting nightmare faded into nothing as he drifted back to sleep listening to his Princess’ heart beat strong and steady and feeling her warmth pressed close. 


	18. Sleepless Song

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow updating, college is a thing and I love it but i had SO MUCH WORK. But yeah, my summer insomnia has kicked in and I will hopefully have a few chapters out before returning to school in the fall.  
> As always thanks for reading, feel free to leave comments and kudos!

It was unusual to spot Luka at the steps of the school, the musician typically only showed up there if Juleka forgot something or he was picking up her homework when she was out sick. Neither had occurred that day to Marinette’s knowledge. All the same, since school was out and Alya had disappeared with Nino and Adrien had vanished into his car an hour earlier for a photoshoot, she was happy to stop and say hello at least. 

“Hey Luka!” the ravenette greeted with a smile, “Waiting for Juleka?” 

“Hi Marinette, I’m actually just out and about, Juleka’s hanging out with Rose today.” He replied, smiling as he adjusted the thick strap on his shoulder, the case of his guitar partially visible behind him. 

“I see, seems like everyone’s out with friends today.” The wistful sigh escaped before she could stop it, and the teen softened a bit at her words.

“If you aren’t busy, I could use some help finding inspiration for the next set of songs for the band?” He couldn’t help just chuckle at the way she lit up, her eyes sparkling in the afternoon sun.

“R-really? Sounds like fun! Let’s go.” Following her lead, Luka found himself watching her more than anything else, the way she lit up at small things, the animated movement of her hands as they talked, the blush that flared across her cheeks every time he saved her from a fall when she tripped. They stopped for drinks and snacks at some point, a replacement -if a poor one- for dinner as they continued walking about the city, pausing at some of the more well know locations and then the local spots. There wasn’t much inspiration to be found as they settled down outside the Notre Dame cathedral, Luka absentmindedly strumming his instrument as Marinette sat doodling. It was a warm atmosphere they found themselves caught up in, both sharing random quips to break the quiet every now and again, but for the most part they were drifting in comfortable silence. 

The sky darkened rapidly just a little while from sunset, dark clouds rolling with a breeze that was slowly picking up. So caught up in trying to memorize the rhythm the girl had begun to hum to his tune, Luka almost jumped when a cold drop splashed across his hand, glancing up as another followed. Beside him, Marinette squealed in shock, quickly stashing her sketchbook away much the same as Luka was with his guitar. 

Laughing at how they got caught in the rain, the two rushed down the street toward the bakery. Unfortunately their rush did little to prevent the two from being soaked by the surprise downpour, so by the time the two finally made it into the back of the shop they were dripping wet. Stripping off his sodden jacket, Luka hung it on the coat rack then shook his head vigorously to dislodge the water droplets and accidentally sprinkling his friend who managed a half-hearted ‘hey!’ of protest before dissolving into giggles. 

Sabine appeared moments later, rolling her eyes at her daughter before ushering them both up to the living room, leaving them with a plate of fresh croissants and mugs of warm tea as she returned to help her husband finish closing and cleaning. Seated at opposite sides of the couch, they watched the rain while sipping their drinks for a while, thee silence broken when Luka spoke up,

“Thanks for today Mari, it was a lot more fun than if I had been on my own.” Predictably, the girl blushed and waved a hand around, thankfully the one not holding her mug,

“No problem! I had fun too.” Anything else she was going to say was cut off by a yawn big enough to make her eyes water slightly, and she only stuck out her tongue when he sarcastically asked if she was tired. Chuckling, the musician set his drink aside and retrieved his guitar, turning and crossing his legs under him to settle the instrument in his lap. He strummed a light and steady tune, and Marinette closed her eyes after setting down her own cup, swaying gently to the lullaby-like pace he played. 

Luka jolted slightly when a weight fell onto his thigh, but sighed with a fond smile at the slightly frizzed ebony bangs partially obscuring Marinette’s sleeping face. Glancing about, he spotted the blanket covering the back of the couch and tugged it down to cover the girl, nodding to himself in satisfaction before resuming his song. He glanced down and felt his heart swell at the smallest upturn of her lips, a new beat vibrating the strings of his guitar, one that echoed how his heart beat for her. 

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Miraculous Ladybug (if I did Marichat would totally be canon)  
> Enjoy my work? Let me know! Send me an idea you'd like to see and I'll do my best to fill requests!  
> Thanks for reading!!


End file.
